PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Julius Peppers picked up the ball, turnedtoward the wide swath of open field in front of him and tookoff.

Sure, the Chicago Bears' defensive end admits he doesn't havethe "blazing speed" of his youth. The way the PittsburghSteelers are backpedaling these days, it was hardly required.

Peppers scooped up a Ben Roethlisberger fumble and ran 42 yardswith just under 4 minutes remaining to clinch a 40-23 victorySunday night that kept the Bears (3-0) perfect.

"I happened to be at the right place at the right time and theball bounced to me," Peppers said. "I got a hand on it and tookit in, so there wasn't much else to talk about. That was thelongest run I had with the ball, yes, I will tell you that."

The Bears forced five turnovers in all, converting four of theminto points to stave off a second-half rally by the Steelers(0-3). Pittsburgh trimmed a 21-point deficit to four in thefourth quarter but couldn't stop from stumbling to thefranchise's worst start since 2000.

Roethlisberger completed 26 of 41 passes for 406 yards and threwtwo touchdowns to Antonio Brown, but also fumbled twice andthrew two interceptions.

Major Wright returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdownin the second quarter and Peppers' stroll to the end zone cappedkept Chicago unbeaten. The Bears needed a pair of fourth-quarterrallies to win their first two games, but never trailed againstPittsburgh thanks to a defense that specializes in havoc.

"We came in here and got the job done," Peppers said. "They gotclose down the stretch, but we have veterans on our team thatstayed cool. We don't panic no matter what."

Jay Cutler passed for 159 yards and threw a 17-yard touchdownstrike to Earl Bennett with just under 6 minutes remaining togive the Bears breathing room after the Steelers pulled within27-23 on Shaun Suisham's 44-yard field goal with 10:43 to play.

Chicago's offense, which generated little after a 17-pointoutburst in the first quarter, responded behind Cutler.

The quarterback scrambled for 13 yards on third-and-10 to startthe drive. Cutler then hit Brandon Marshall for 41 yards onthird-and-12 to move into Pittsburgh territory. Facingthird-and-5 at the Pittsburgh 17, Cutler found Bennett in theback corner of the end zone.

Officials ruled the pass was incomplete, but the play wasoverturned after replays showed Bennett deftly dragged his rightfoot before sliding out of bounds.

"The (defensive) back was there, but the throw was perfect and Iwas able to make the play," Bennett said. "The way we played inthe fourth quarter, that really shows how resilient we are."

Pittsburgh tried to get back into the game, but Lance Briggsstripped Roethlisberger, and Peppers pounced. The veterandefensive end followed a parade of blockers down the sidelinefor Chicago's second defensive score of the night and third intwo weeks.

"We try to scoop up every loose ball and run it back for atouchdown in practice," linebacker D.J. Williams said. "Even ifit's not a fumble, we pick it up and go with it. We knew theyhad some problems with their offensive line, so we wanted topressure them as much as possible. We were able to get pasttheir tackles and pressure Ben quite a bit.

Roethlisberger's second interception on a late stat-paddingdrive was Pittsburgh's ninth turnover through three games. TheSteelers defense, meanwhile, hasn't recorded a takeaway through12 quarters.

It's a recipe that rarely leads to victory.

"As of right now we have way too many turnovers and it goes bothways," Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel said. "We've got tofind ways to get the ball. That's what great defenses do."

And none do it better than the Bears. While not the snarlingforce it was when recently retired linebacker Brian Urlacher wasrunning things, the Bears make up for their lack of bark with apretty feisty bite.

When opponents get loose with the ball, the Bears swarm.

The mistakes started early. Pittsburgh turned it over twice inthe first half. Williams stripped Roethlisberger in the firstquarter, leading to a 5-yard touchdown run by Matt Forte.

Chicago was up 17-3 midway through the second quarter whenRoethlisberger threw off his back foot in the face of a blitz.The bail sailed into the hands of Wright, who sprinted down thesideline for a touchdown to give the Bears a commanding 21-pointlead.

The score marked the second straight week and the 10th timesince the start of the 2012 season that the Bears returned aninterception for a touchdown, easily the most in the NFL.

"That's what we do, we take the ball away," Peppers said. "Westress it in practice every day, and it carries over to the game... we have to continue to do that on a weekly basis to continueto win, and I believe we'll be able to do that."

NOTES: Steelers TE Heath Miller caught 3 passes for 35 yards inhis first game back from torn ligaments in his right knee. ...The Bears lost DT Henry Milton to a knee injury early in thefourth quarter. ... Pittsburgh outgained the Bears 459-258. ...Steelers WR Antonio Brown finished with nine receptions for acareer-high 196 yards and two touchdowns.

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